Xu Ze lay quietly on the bed, the energy cycle within his body circulating rapidly without pause, as countless energy particles around him rushed swiftly into his body.
After entering the thirty-fourth cycle, Xu Ze’s energy cycle was now running even faster than before, and he was currently advancing rapidly toward the thirty-fifth cycle.
Although it had been some time since he entered the thirty-fourth cycle, Xu Ze still felt there was some distance to the thirty-fifth cycle. He was still steadily accumulating energy, working hard toward officially advancing to Level 4 through the thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth cycles.
Whenever he was alone, he would always devote himself fully to cultivating his energy cycle—not for anything else, but simply for Xiao Dao’s restart and revival.
Number One, to Xu Ze, was just a mechanical program that could provide him with adequate system support. But Xiao Dao was different. Xiao Dao was not merely a program—he had always been regarded by Xu Ze as his most important mentor and friend. Without Xiao Dao’s presence, he always felt a certain emptiness in his heart…
The energy mass ran circle after circle through the Ren and Du meridians—the thirty-second cycle, the thirty-third cycle, the thirty-fourth cycle… But after passing the thirty-fourth cycle, Xu Ze slowly withdrew the energy mass back into his qi sea and began a new second round of circulation.
It was not yet time to make a breakthrough attempt. Xu Ze kept his eyes slightly closed and calmly continued circulating. He estimated that at this rate of progress, in just a few more days at most, he would be able to try formally breaking through to the thirty-fifth cycle…
Today was the first time since the New Year that Xu Ze had formally begun routine inspection duties for special operations. Today he would travel far to the Northwest Region to participate in a certain special forces brigade’s training activities.
Brigade-level special forces training at the military region level was generally evaluated by the Military Training Department, while the Operations Department also bore extremely important inspection and evaluation duties. The Special Operations Division in particular was the representative among them, so naturally such tasks were assigned to people from the Special Operations Division.
For such special forces brigade training exercises, the Special Operations Division’s main participants were naturally Xu Ze and the Special Training Section under his command.
So early that day, a military aircraft carrying six or seven officers from the Military Training Department, along with Xu Ze, Zhang Zuo, and several special operations training officers from the Special Training Section, flew toward the Northwest Region.
The Northwest Region and the Southwest Region had always been top priorities for the Huaxia Army, and the military had always attached great importance to personnel in these two regions. As the newly appointed deputy director of the Special Operations Division and also very young, Xu Ze had been specifically summoned by Lieutenant General Luo Jiang of the Operations Department before departing, who gave him some advice…
Fortunately, such tasks were generally handled by Zhang Zuo anyway. What Xu Ze usually did was observe, offer some verbal guidance—there was no need for him to actually go out and do anything… So Lieutenant General Luo Jiang was not worried either, and merely gave him some routine reminders.
As for the Military Training Department’s team leader, it was Major General Li Jun, who was also the leader of the entire inspection group… Xu Ze was not very familiar with this major general, but the two exchanged greetings, discussed things briefly, and more or less got acquainted.
The military aircraft flew for seven or eight hours before reaching the Northwest Military Region. By the time they arrived, it was nearly dark. After disembarking, several officers came to greet them.
The one leading the welcoming party was Major General Wu Lei, deputy commander of the military region. Xu Ze walked behind Li Jun and quickly recognized this somewhat burly major general. Wu Lei was also the chief officer of the Northwest Special Forces Brigade, so Xu Ze had naturally paid attention to relevant information before coming…
Wu Lei and inspection group leader Major General Li Jun were old acquaintances. After the two warmly shook hands, Wu Lei noticed Xu Ze walking behind Li Jun. Initially, he had not paid much attention to this young officer, assuming he was a military training officer under Li Jun. But Li Jun was extremely enthusiastic in introducing Xu Ze…
“This is Senior Colonel Xu Ze, deputy director of the Special Operations Division of the Operations Department… Old Wu, you haven’t met him yet, have you…” General Li Jun introduced Wu Lei with a smile.
Hearing Li Jun’s introduction, a trace of surprise finally appeared in Wu Lei’s eyes. He was well acquainted with Lin Beijia, director of the Special Operations Division, but when had such a young brat appeared as deputy director? Looking at him, the kid probably did not even have all his hair grown in yet…
Seeing the strange look flash through the other man’s eyes, Xu Ze did not mind. He solemnly saluted Wu Lei, and after Wu Lei returned the salute, he extended his hand and shook Wu Lei’s, smiling as he said, “Hello, Commander Wu…”
“Haha… truly a hero from the young generation…” Wu Lei shook hands lightly with Xu Ze and gave a laugh, then said with a smile, “Director Xu is so young—it really is beyond my expectations… It seems us old fellows really are getting old…”
“Not at all, not at all… Commander Wu is my senior… I should learn properly from Commander Wu…” After some polite exchanges with Wu Lei, everyone, accompanied by Wu Lei, went to the military region headquarters to eat and rest…
However, Xu Ze noticed that Wu Lei, whether intentionally or not, did not pay him much attention, with a hint of disdain in his eyes. Xu Ze only smiled faintly at this—he was young, and he was used to such things…
In the military, there was nothing unusual about a welcoming meal—big bites of meat and big bowls of liquor. These veterans who frequently visited units were long accustomed to it. But Li Jun, the team leader, was somewhat worried about this young deputy director from the Special Operations Division—whether such a young man could really hold his ground.
After all, in special forces training and exercises, although he was nominally the chief officer in charge of the team, the one truly responsible would still be Xu Ze and his subordinates. When the soldiers below welcomed inspection groups, the first thing they often did was get the inspection group’s chief officers drunk at the dinner table.
If you could remain steady as a mountain, those fellows would naturally respect you. But if you failed to take down a few of them and got knocked out first yourself, then although they might not say anything, they would relatively look down on you…
And the fellows here in the Northwest were all heavy drinkers—especially this Wu Lei, who was the heaviest drinker of all. In previous years when inspection groups came down, he alone would knock out several of them.
And now the Special Operations Division’s chief officer was actually a brat in his twenties, and it was his first time here. There was no need for Wu Lei to even step in—these people would naturally not be convinced. Today’s spearhead would probably truly be aimed at Xu Ze… Besides, the New Year had not long passed, and the first meal of the New Year was the hardest to fend off…
Li Jun was worrying when he noticed that Zhang Zuo from the Special Training Section, who often came on inspections in the past, showed no intention of reminding his superior. That was somewhat strange… But he could not say anything either. He could only think that if things really went wrong later, he would have to step in and help out no matter what—absolutely不能让 the inspection group lose too much face…
Everyone entered the military region cafeteria. After they were seated, the military region commander and chief of staff came over. These two were quite warm—after saying a few words of welcome and praising Xu Ze as a young talent a few times, everyone began eating…
At first, everyone was still polite, exchanging a few courteous toasts with good manners. Li Jun, watching from the side, saw that Xu Ze’s expression did not change after several cups, and his eyes remained clear—this somewhat put him at ease…
But as several cups of liquor went down, the atmosphere gradually grew lively. Wu Lei began raising his cup and repeatedly toasting Li Jun, while Senior Colonel Li Bin, the special forces brigade commander seated at the same table, also began urging Xu Ze to drink…
As for the other members of the inspection group, they all had people keeping them company, and these companions were all selected figures from across the military region—their drinking capacity was extraordinary. In an instant, things became lively.
Seeing that his subordinates had already started making their moves, the military region commander and chief of staff drank two cups, said a few polite words, and then left the table, handing the scene over to the subordinates…
Li Jun was an old hand—no matter how others urged him, he only took small sips. Wu Lei was also an old acquaintance; they had gone at it who knows how many times before, and he knew the other would not budge. So after a few toasts, he simply aimed his spearhead at Xu Ze beside him…
He was a veteran special forces soldier himself. Regarding such a critical position as deputy director of the Special Operations Division of the General Staff, held by a young brat, he truly felt somewhat unconvinced. Moreover, the other was only in his twenties and already a senior colonel—only one rank lower than himself, an old soldier who had struggled in the barracks for decades. This made him even more displeased…
So he immediately raised his cup toward Xu Ze from the side. Although on military drinking tables, once it truly began, there was no distinction of rank—but when a major general came over to toast, could a senior colonel not drink? So Xu Ze very simply poured it down his throat.
Seeing that Xu Ze was rather straightforward, Wu Lei’s eyes lit up. Then, after Li Bing, the special forces brigade commander beside him, filled both their cups, he raised his cup again…
Xu Ze understood the situation clearly by now. He knew he was young, and if he did not first subdue the other side at the dinner table, tomorrow’s inspection would be even harder to conduct. So he did not decline, and he and Wu Lei went back and forth. Before long, seven or eight cups had gone down…
Wu Lei’s cup was not small either—each cup held about one liang. Xu Ze had already drunk at least a jin and two or three liang including the earlier toasts, yet his eyes remained clear with not the slightest hint of intoxication. Wu Lei was truly somewhat shocked…
He immediately shot a glance at Li Bin beside him. Li Bin naturally hurriedly raised his cup and began toasting again…
But after Xu Ze drank another seven or eight cups, his expression remained completely unchanged and his demeanor calm. This truly stunned Wu Lei and Li Bin…
Meanwhile, Li Jun beside them had his eyes wide open. This Deputy Director Xu was actually so formidable—no wonder Lin Beijia himself had not come this first year and had directly sent him out…
At this time, the atmosphere at the two adjacent tables was much livelier than at the main table. Both sides were seasoned veterans. Although the inspection group was slightly at a disadvantage, they did not lose momentum… Things were buzzing with excitement…
Wu Lei saw that the momentum was not favorable. If his main general retreated here, the morale below would weaken. Today, no matter what, he could not lose to this brat… So he immediately shouted toward the side: “Come… change to bowls…”
“Change to bowls?” Hearing Commander Wu call for bowls… the two adjacent tables were instantly stunned…
Change to bowls… That was something that had not happened in the Northwest Military Region for how many years since Commander Wu took office?
